THE
Hitching Post
PRESORTED STANDARD U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
300 Winding Creek Blvd. Mechanicsburg, PA 17050
COLUMBIA SC PERMIT 1160
FALL / WINTER 2023
YEAR-END FINANCIAL RECORD KEEPING Gathering key items will help to prove expenses, verify income, and certify purchases. By Chad Rugh, Farm Credit Accounting Officer
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR 2023 JUMPSTART GRANT RECIPIENTS!
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start heading to market, loaded with their own tulips, snapdragon, ranunculus, anemones, and stock. By the end of April, the Kings and their employees have cut all the tulips from the 120,000 bulbs they planted. They also begin harvesting peonies in a variety of colors, which are popular with their customers. At the same time “we’re trying to save flowers for the week of Mother’s Day,” says Marcus. “At that point, we’ll have about 200 buckets stored in the ice-chilled cooler, 80-100 stems in each bucket,” he states. “We store about 18,000 tulips in the cooler for Mother’s Day weekend, by far our biggest weekend.” After Mother’s Day, they don’t have long before the zinnias, which were started under grow lights, are ready. Those are typically harvested around the end of May. The family has also started creating dried wreaths, which they market from October through June, selling about 200-300 wreaths every year. Summer annuals such as zinnias, ageratum, blue salvia, and sunflowers really start coming in at the end of June. Mid-summer also ushers in continued planting time when the Triple Tree crew puts 20,000 flowering cabbage plants in the soil. Mugwort, a Sweet Annie-type of
FALL / WINTER 2023
flower that is a nice filler, gets picked and moved up into the attic of the flower barn, where it is air dried. The space reaches 150 degrees during the summer, thanks to its black roof. By the end of summer, Marcus, his children, and employees are typically spending about two and a half days each week cutting flowers to get ready for weekend bouquet sales. Around mid-November, they will turn the heat on in the greenhouse for a bit of frost protection until Thanksgiving. They will create winter wreaths, bouquets, and arrangements that they will sell through Christmas, alongside the loose greens and small trees they offer. The business has grown over the years, benefiting from Marcus’s creativity, hard work, customer service, and his willingness to seize new opportunities. As much as he enjoys the market in Philadelphia, Marcus would like to do more retail on the farm--possibly pick-yourown opportunities or even a sunflower maze. He dreams that his children will take over the operation one day. In the meantime, Marcus hopes to “keep growing flowers,” and making his customers smile.
888.339.3334 | HorizonFC.com
The Following 15 Applicants Were Selected To Receive $10,000 Each To Establish And Grow Their Farming Operations. Paul & Laura Congleton from Woodbine, MD Carlene Curtis from Parkton, MD Eric & Christy Donnelly from Rocky Ridge, MD Benjamin & Sarah Goldberg from Clarksville, MD Jon Hartzler & Erin Luley from Pennsylvania Furnace, PA Lulav Lieberman from Newark, DE Matthew & Brittany Miller from York Haven, PA John Orlowski from Knoxville, MD Andrew Porter & Rebecca Robertson from Spring Mills, PA Matthew & Jessica Schnupp from Harrisburg, PA Richard Talbott from Gerrardstown, WV Katelynn Troy from Parkton, MD Timothy & Edna Yoder from Salisbury, PA Titus & Anna Yoder from Salisbury, PA Blake & Sarah Ziegler from Lebanon, PA
JumpStart is a competitive grant program for farmers in the start-up phase of business. More than 100 applications were received for the 2023 JumpStart grant program, all of which were carefully evaluated by a diverse panel of agriculture professionals and industry experts. Those named here were selected on the merits of their submissions, which included an application, business plan, and completion of the Ag Biz Basics educational course. The annual JumpStart program is available to agriculturalists who are at least 18 years of age, have two years or less of farming experience or be planning to begin farming within the next two years, and reside in Horizon Farm Credit’s territory. The program is open to both full and part-time farmers and does not require applicants to be Farm Credit customers.
KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR INFORMATION ON THE 2024 JUMPSTART PROGRAM!
As we look ahead to the end of the year and plan for the next, it may be beneficial to start gathering 2023 financial documents, for use in personal record keeping, business analysis, tax preparation, and even documenting income for future financing needs. The checklist below may be helpful in determining what information is needed to prove expenses, verify income, and certify purchases. Items to Gather: • Names, Date of Birth, and Social Security numbers for all members of the household Income Records: • Sale of any livestock, produce, grains, or other products that you raised • Patronage payments • Payments that you received for work that you did outside of your operation (Custom Hire) • Any other income that you made from your operation • Any W2 for work done through an employer Expense Records: • Feed • Crop Expense • Supplies used in your operation • Labor fees paid to others • Loan interest
• • • •
Trucking costs from your operation Rent payments Repair costs Veterinarian bills
Equipment: • Bill of sale for any equipment purchased • Should include the date of sale, type and name of equipment, and if the equipment is new or used • Bill of sale for any equipment sold • Should include the date of sale, type and name of equipment, and if the equipment is new or used Purchases or Sale of Real Estate: • Provide a settlement statement Forms: • Any new 4029 exemption certifications (Application for Exemption from Social Security and Medicare Taxes and Waiver of Benefits) Compiling all of the applicable items above will be beneficial in analyzing business profitability, help to facilitate the proper completion of any tax filings that may be necessary, and ensure that any refunds or payments are accurate. These items should be kept for a minimum of three years, as tax filings can be amended within that period.
Please contact Farm Credit’s Business Services team with any questions at 888.339.3334.